vncnus Page 105
Page 105
Chapter 131 Help me! My angel!
Verona Delkunas laboriously pushed an orc's corpse away from him, scattering pieces of entrails and blood all over him, making him look like a blood-soaked mess.
However, even now, with his body filthy and his mind and body utterly exhausted, this old man, who had spent many years in the bottom hive of the Nest City world, still did not choose to let go of the chainsaw sword used by mortals in his hand.
He knew that if he accidentally lost this thing now, the only outcome he could choose would be death.
His face darkened as he suddenly recalled something he had read in a book: "Don't make any complicated plans before the battle begins; they will eventually be obscured by swords and blood."
"I fucking agree!" Verona spat out a mouthful of blood and said viciously. "Damn...you're absolutely right, I should have thought of that a long time ago."
He turned his head and looked at his adjutant.
To be precise, it was his adjutant's tattered and mangled body.
The pure-blooded Terran has become unrecognizable from his former self. On his remaining arm is a tattoo of a lightning bolt and a falcon—something Terran used to show off to others when he was alive.
According to him, this is a design that can only be found in tattoo parlors inside the hives of Terra, and it is said to have a long history, dating back to ten thousand years ago.
Verona stared in lingering fear at the alien corpse she had just torn apart with her chainsaw sword, unable to comprehend how these monsters could possess such terrifying power.
He crouched down and grabbed the adjutant's only remaining arm. He sighed deeply and then tossed it into a corner.
"This is the last thing I can do, brother. If I survive, I will hold a cremation ceremony for you."
Verona spoke thus, then immediately stood up and quickly walked towards the room.
His plans had changed—or rather, failed. Verona no longer expected that other traveling merchants or disciplined imperial troops would come to his aid.
Whether it's pirates or something else, as long as his life can be saved, he's willing to give up all the cargo on his ship, or even a portion of his loyalty.
After all, once you're dead, you're really gone; only by living can you have a real future.
The orcs who landed on the ship were different from the orcs Lynch remembered. They were not a rabble or stupid beasts, but a well-trained army. They even launched their attack on his ship step by step, in a methodical manner.
His personal guard and most of his crew had already been killed or wounded. Verona knew in his heart that he would probably die as well, but even if he died, he would not let the orcs on the ship get away with it.
Verona gritted her teeth and continued to endure the sensory stimulation from the bloody environment, moving like a lowly rat through the complex ship's passageways.
Fortunately, his lucky charm did work—the skull ornament hanging on his chest seemed to have truly been sent to Terra by fanatical believers, just as he had said when he acquired it from the archbishop of the state church, and had personally basked in the imperial glory beneath the throne.
Now, the Emperor's radiance has come into play, protecting the unfortunate patriarch of a merchant ronin dynasty, who has successfully evaded the orcs' attacks and arrived at his captain's cabin.
The captain's cabin has served as Verona's study, lounge, and occasionally indulgence room over the past decade.
At first, it was unremarkable, but as Verona traveled to different planets, bringing with her noble ladies, widows, and even frail men of different styles, its decorations became increasingly elaborate, and it was even specially reinforced in a certain casting world.
Verona pressed a button, and a large steel door slammed shut. He breathed a sigh of relief, took a bottle of Amasek from a large desk drawer, took a swig, then pulled out a loaded pistol, took a deep breath, and prepared himself for the final moment.
Next, he was to put one of the nuclear bombs on the spaceship into a semi-activated state. Then he settled into his seat, pistol in hand, waiting for the moment when the door would be breached.
If it is an Imperial warrior who enters, he will raise both hands to welcome him.
If it's an orc, then he'll take a bullet and then activate a nuclear missile.
If it's neither of the above two...
Then he will choose to adapt to the situation and decide his attitude based on the circumstances.
Verona walked to the bookshelf and activated a mechanism on it. The bookshelf slowly opened a hidden door, and Verona stepped inside, arriving before the dark, round sphere, about the height of a normal man.
He activated several switches, and the indicator lights on the sphere began to flash. Verona took a deep breath, touched a controller in his pocket, and then prepared to turn and go outside.
Are you going to detonate it?
An unfamiliar voice suddenly appeared in the dark room where no one should be, leaving Verona stunned for a few seconds before goosebumps rose up.
He abruptly raised the gun at his waist and aimed it in the direction of the sound, but before he could pull the trigger, a sudden burst of heat appeared on the grip, causing him to loosen his grip and drop the gun to the ground.
At that moment, he finally saw the face of the person who appeared in the dark room.
This was a towering giant, clad in pearl-white power armor, wielding a power spear crackling with electricity. He stood nearly three meters tall, a rare sight even among the angels of the God-Emperor that Verona had ever seen, let alone mortals.
Verona immediately understood the giant's identity, or rather, there was no one else in the empire dressed like that.
That is the God-Emperor's Angel of Death.
"mortal."
The Angel of Death spoke, looking at Verona and asking the same question again.
Are you planning to detonate it?
Verona took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
This angel showed no trace of the rebellious angels; in fact, he was remarkably clean.
In the darkness, Verona couldn't see the chapter insignia on the other person, but he could vaguely guess that the other person should be a loyal one.
The only question is how this loyal angel ended up on their ship.
So he gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and performed the Eagle Salute to the angel.
"Praise be to the Emperor! Your Majesty, angels, please help the Emperor's loyal subjects!"
Chapter 132 What did you bring me here for?
Lynch found it difficult to articulate his feelings.
Just moments before the explosion, Hoffman activated the teleportation device in the control room. Although it used the same warp space as the current teleportation devices of the human empire, the result was unexpected.
He wasn't sent to the surface of the local planet, since the destruction device would cause most of the planet to collapse within three hours.
He was not teleported to the Explorer King either, since Hoffman did not know the exact location of the Explorer King and had no way to make a precise teleportation.
However... he wasn't teleported to the surface of another normal planet.
He was taken directly to a dark, completely dark cabin inside what appeared to be a ship belonging to the human empire.
What is this for me?
Lynch looked around at everything. The system on his power armor helped him observe the surrounding environment. He saw the round sphere in the middle of the cabin. Based on the analysis given to him by Hoffman's AI, he knew what it was.
"System analysis complete. According to the analysis results, the item is a thermonuclear fusion product. It has a trigger device installed inside. If it is detonated, the power and shock wave it generates will completely break a three-kilometer-long warship in two."
The AI's voice was dull. Lin Qi took a deep breath and nodded slightly.
"Thank you, Hoffman."
Yes, Hoffman, that's the name Lynch gave to his current AI.
What was the reason for choosing this name? Lin Qi didn't know either. Perhaps it was to commemorate the scientist from the Dark Ages with whom he had only spent a few dozen hours.
After all, the other party did help him in the end, which can be considered as fulfilling his promise. He also allowed him to leave the ruins and come to the outside world with a scientific achievement that is invaluable to modern humans.
"No need to thank me, Lynch."
Although his voice was still monotone, a faint smile appeared on Lin Qi's face. He then placed his hand on the "thermonuclear fusion product," silently releasing his psionic energy to begin sensing every structure within it.
Lynch sensed that beneath the surface of the metal shell lay the Imperial Eagle emblem cast onto another layer of metal, along with densely packed, neatly written High Gothic scripture from the Book of the Holy Word.
Yes, it's definitely a genuine human empire technology peripheral.
Lynch let out a long sigh of relief. At least this ship belonged to the Empire of Man, not to some Dark Eldar, Orc, or Chaos Space Marine.
If it's one of these, then he's truly gone from one wolf's den to another tiger's lair. Even if the opponent isn't strong enough, he can't avoid a fight.
Lin Qi began searching for a way out. Knowing that the ship belonged to humans, he naturally didn't want to force his way in, since any misunderstandings would be quite troublesome to explain.
"Lynch."
Just as Lynch was searching for an exit, Hoffman suddenly spoke up, giving him a reminder.
"somebody is coming."
Lynch immediately became alert. He did not doubt Hoffman's words and quickly found a place to use psionic energy to conceal his presence.
However, he still asked Hoffman out of curiosity.
How did you know someone was coming?
Hoffman didn't hide anything and answered Lynch's question in that blank voice.
"I communicated with the ship's systems, or in your terms, its machine soul."
"They communicated with the machine spirit?!"
Lin Qi was surprised, but upon closer reflection, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
After all, according to the scientist Hoffman from the ruins, and based on his own perception of the warp, the AI Hoffman he currently possesses is essentially an evolution of the original machine spirit of his power armor.
An evolved machine spirit gained the ability to communicate with other machine spirits... no, perhaps machine spirits were always able to communicate. However, before this, at least within the visible empire, no one knew exactly how machine spirits communicated, or what information they exchanged.
But now, Lynch can.
Because his soul is different from others, it can clearly transmit information outwards.
"Hoffman, what else did that machine spirit say to you?"
Lin Qi asked directly, since that was the case, then he could directly obtain the information he needed.
"It says the ship's name is the Steel Sword, and it is currently under attack by orcs."
Ok?
"This ship belongs to a family of merchant ronin loyal to the empire. After the orcs boarded the ship, the captain, who is also the head of the family, quickly organized a counterattack, leading his personal guard and crew in an attempt to launch a swift decapitation strike against the orcs."
Ok……
"But they failed. The royal guard was almost completely wiped out. The captain managed to escape with the sacrifice of his first mate, and now he is the one approaching here."
Ok.
"He planned to bring the thermonuclear fusion product to a triggered state, and then, after the enemy breached the gate, activate it to perish together with them."
Lynch understood.
Is that considered a classic start?
Lynch couldn't help but imagine an Astartes suddenly appearing on a ship, launching an attack on the Imperial enemies on board to protect the citizens and property of the Empire.
"Lynch."
Hoffman spoke, and Lynch could hear a subtle hint in his voice—just as the scientist Hoffman had said, with the passage of time and contact with the outside world, it would slowly evolve and become more and more intelligent.